Standing up to evil

Premier says terror act will not change the heart of city’s CBD

AN act of evil is not enough to change the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, with the Victorian premier praising residents for their strength and defiance against terrorism.

Daniel Andrews said yesterday Victorians had shown great strength against terrorism by attending the Remembrance Day service in the city after Friday’s terror attack.

“The size of the crowd, their involvement, the optimism in the crowd today it is a real statement that our values will endure, our freedoms, that our unique way of life is much bigger than any act of evil or any ideology that is fundamentally evil,” Mr Andrews said at the Shrine of Remembrance. “That is very special following the pure evil that we were all subjected to, all of us, on Friday.” He stopped short of calling for drastic safety measures, preferring a “proportionate response to a very real threat”.

“We will do, and have done everything possible, to keep Victorians safe from an infrastructure point of view. But we are not going to fundamentally change the way the city works, for instance, running trams,” he said.

Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, a 30-year-old known to authorities for his radical views, parked a four-wheel drive laden with gas cylinders on Bourke St on Friday and stabbed three men, one fatally.

Italian restaurateur Sisto Malaspina, 74, was killed, while Tasmanian businessman Rod Patterson remains in The Alfred hospital after being stabbed in the head.

Mr Andrews is yet to speak to Mr Malaspina’s family.

Shire Ali was shot in the chest by a police officer he had threatened with a knife and died in hospital.

Federal police said the attacker had his passport cancelled in 2015 amid fears the Somali-born man would go to Syria.

It was believed he was inspired by Islamic State rather than having direct links with the organisation.